


when we fell apart

by awwclint



Series: sf19 bonus round fills [8]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Angst, Breakups, Hurt No Comfort, Implied Kagami Taiga/Kuroko Tetsuya, Insecurity, M/M, Multi, Past Aomine/Kagami/Kuroko
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-08 12:54:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20835791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awwclint/pseuds/awwclint
Summary: The court down the road has always occupied a special place in Daiki’s heart.





	when we fell apart

The court down the road has always occupied a special place in Daiki’s heart.

He learned to play basketball there.

He essentially grew up there.

It’s the most important damn place in Daiki’s life.

Tetsu knows this. Daiki knows that Tetsu knows this.

Which is why Daiki’s both confused and concerned when Tetsu texts him in the middle of the night, asking him to meet Tetsu at the court down the road.

“Oi, Tetsu,” Daiki calls out softly as he steps onto the court, hands tucked into his pockets as the biting night wind tears at his skin.

Tetsu’s standing in the middle of the court, staring at a discarded basketball. His eyes are glimmering wet.

“Aomine-kun,” Tetsu murmurs, “Thank you for coming.”

“’Course I came.” Daiki shrugs. “You got a good reason for draggin’ me out here at ass o’clock?”

“I can’t do this anymore,” Tetsu whispers despondently, and Daiki’s heart stops.

“The fuck you mean?” Daiki demands, “What can’t you do?”

“All of it.” Tetsu’s voice is quiet, barely audible, trembling with emotion. “Teiko, Seirin, the others… you.”

“The hell?”

Tetsu looks up at Daiki, and the anguish in his eyes _hurts_ to see. 

He can only imagine how Tetsu must be _feeling_, if he looks so fuckin’ broken.

“I’m so tired, Aomine-kun.” Tetsu drops his eyes back to that shitty fuckin’ basketball, and his face hardens. “I’m tired of fixing everyone. I’m tired of trying so hard to win.”

“Tetsu, don’t fuckin’ say it,” Daiki growls. “Not now. Not _here_, for fuck’s sake. Taiga’s already gone, you can’t leave me too.”

“Kagami-kun is gone,” Tetsu agrees, “and I can’t continue to fight without him. No matter what, it will never be enough. I’ll never be as strong as him.”

“Taiga is a fuckin’ asshole who abandoned us,” Daiki snarls. “Sure, you’re not as strong as him. I’m not as strong as him either, and you’re strong in a fuckton of other ways, Tetsu.”

“It’s not going to be enough!” Tetsu shouts, and Daiki’s stomach sinks. If Tetsu’s shouting, it’s serious. It’s more serious than Daiki would have thought.

“So what, you’re gonna quit?” Daiki demands incredulously. “Shit’s never been enough to stop you before, Tetsu. You’re a damn fighter, you’ve done shit that no one else could’ve—”

“With Kagami-kun’s help,” Tetsu interrupts quietly. “I could not have done anything that I did without him, and I will not be able to do anything again without him.”

“C’mon, Tetsu, there’s gotta be a way. You can’t just quit!”

“I’m sorry, Aomine-kun,” Tetsu says firmly, “but I did not call you here for a discussion. I called you here to say goodbye.”

Daiki freezes. “The hell you mean, goodbye? We can still see each other if you quit.”

“I’m not staying here.”

What’s left of Daiki’s heart shatters.”

“Tetsu—”

“Kagami-kun spoke with Alex,” Tetsu tells. “I’ll be moving to America to rejoin Kagami-kun.”

“America…?” Daiki feels faint. “The shit, Tetsu?! Take me with you! The three of us, we can play together again! Shit, Tetsu, I love you, and I still love Taiga, and we could all be together again—”

“There is only one place available,” Tetsu says.

_“They do not need a second, inferior ace,”_ Daiki hears.

“I am sorry, Aomine-kun. But I will not change my mind.” Tetsu sounds fuckin’ exhausted, but he sounds sure of himself. “I’ll be leaving in the morning. Goodbye, Aomine-kun.”

Daiki can’t find the right words to say as Tetsu walks away. He can’t force a single fuckin’ word out of his mouth.

Tetsu leaves him there, hunched over in the biting wind, looking around at the most important, special place in his life.

He grew up there.

He learned to play basketball there.

Tetsu left him there.

Daiki leaves, and he never returns to the court down the road.


End file.
